It’s level up time as Esports BAR, the world’s esports business arena, is returning to Cannes next year in an expanded form after a successful launch in Cannes last February and a scheduled second edition in Miami, 18 to 20 September, 2017.
Strong demand and a 96 per cent satisfaction rate from esports leaders who attended the inaugural Cannes event, has encouraged Esports BAR organisers Reed MIDEM to introduce a new formula to the show and move to larger premises in Cannes’ prestigious Palais des Festivals.
And just as the global esports ecosystem is growing at the speed of a LOL battle, Esports BAR Cannes is set to increase in size in 2018 with attendance expected to quadruple compared to the first event in February 2017 which welcomed 115 esports delegates from 69 companies and 18 countries.
“While ESL organises numerous sell-out esports events for teams and fans around the world, Esports BAR is unique because it is an international business-oriented gathering with an exclusive group of senior decision-makers in a nearly private environment. There are important developments, opportunities and challenges within esports, so having a dedicated forum that brings together top esports and related executives, is essential,” says ESL CEO Ralf Reichert.
2018 will see new segments represented at Esports BAR Cannes, including delegates from cities and regions that are looking to host esports events as well as merchandising and licencing specialists. In order to accommodate the expected increase in delegate numbers, Esports BAR Cannes 2018 will move into the Palais des Festivals’ gold standard Rotonde exhibition hall. The event will once again provide delegates with a guaranteed number of pre-scheduled one-to-one business meetings that proved so popular last February. These meetings, known as the Gourmet Menu, will take place in a dedicated zone called The Private BAR.
New in 2018, The Forum exhibition area will host a special programme of curated workshops and personalised tutorial sessions covering such diverse subjects as investing in esports, the links between traditional sports, pitching a project to investors and esports and gambling within the esports sector.
2018 will see a new A la carte Menu of esports business insight sessions. Over three days, delegates will access a series of case studies providing the latest market data, franchise developments, national and regional case studies of the esports industry, including the state of play in China and discussions on the convergence between pure player esports companies, brands and media.
With over 20 countries represented at Esports BAR Cannes and Miami, these new business events have confirmed the esports ecosystem’s appetite for international events that combine knowledge sharing with networking and deal-making. Participants at Esports BAR have been drawn from top level managers representing esports teams, leagues and tournaments, game publishers, brands and agencies and related media platforms.
Among the major companies involved in esports, Esports BAR Cannes 2017 welcomed digital platforms Twitch, Facebook and YouTube, media giants Orange, Vivendi, Univision and Discovery, game publishers EA, Activision Blizzard, Bandai and Rovio, esports pure players Fnatic, ESForce, Webedia and ESL, and major brands including PepsiCo, Sennheiser and The Coca Cola Company.
In addition to many of the companies that travelled to Cannes, Esports BAR Miami will host representatives from AMC Networks International, Best Buy, CNB e-Sports Club, G2 Esports, Telemundo, Turner Sports, Visa LAC, Ubisoft, and UOL amongst others.